Bites of My Life

Holiday food, events, movies etc filled last week. Zero complaints here! The same is on this week’s agenda. Only a few days until I’m home for the holidays!!

-Freezer foraging for dinner is my favorite little challenge and something I’ve gotten pretty good at. Frozen Trader Joes turkey burger over greens, with goat cheese sprinkled over the top, and a side of Trader Joes frozen rainbow cauliflower roasted with grainy mustard on the side to dip in!
-Recipe post #1 from last week: Ginger Cookies!
-Recipe post #2: Wintergreen Salad!
-Sugar cookie prep! Did you know an ice cream cone cookie turned upside down makes for the cutest Santa?
-Brought my annual Christmas cookie decorating party to Dallas this year for it’s the third year!
-Lots of holiday fun last week, but a highlight was Olivia’s ornament exchange feat. her Chinese food spread.
-Foxtrot #2 opened in Dallas on Wednesday and this location is even more convenient for me. Foxtrot is a modern market that came from Chicago to Dallas and it’s one of my favorite places to meet for coffee and get work done. I tried their avocado toast for the first time and it was so good.
-A hint at tomorrow’s recipe post ;))))
-Love love loooooved Drake’s! Dallas’ new hot spot dining destination! The food, the vibe, the service, everything was 100!
-Our London girl was in town so sushi and tons of girl talk were necessary!
-Found the real Santacon in a University Park’s neighbor’s front yard! If you are in Dallas you have to do a drive-by! We went after dinner Saturday and there were 4+ party buses with groups of people driving by looking at lights!
-Ended the week with a cooking class at Tre Wilcox school. Instead of a traditional cooking class, it was a Chopped style competition, something I’ve always wanted to do. We were split into 4 groups, had to create a salmon and steak dish and include snap peas, fingerling potatoes, ketchup and jalapeño in each dish. My team won!!

Bites of My Life

Thankful, grateful, blessed. << my feelings coming off Thanksgiving mega week. I mentioned this to friends and family a couple of times in the past few days, but I was slightly dreading my extra long week at home. Dreading may not be the right word, but I was weary of being out of my routine and living out of a suitcase for 9 days. When it came down to my last couple days at home I didn’t want to leave. Having my whole family under one roof (mom, dad, sisters, brother-in-laws, nieces, even Gabe) made for the best time at home. I’m happy to be back in Dallas and to make fun holiday plans, but I’m also eagerly counting down to being back in OKC for Christmas! This time of year just craves time with family and oldest friends!

-The makings of my banana cream pie included a pie crust rolled out on crushed graham crackers. My contribution to our work Thanksgiving! I used Cook’s Illustrated recipe.
-Best Breakfast Casserole got a little photo update!
-It’s not Thanksgiving morning without a slice of our Pumpkin Bread while watching the Macy’s parade.
-Thankful for my momma, sisters and Hallie (and dad and brother-inn-laws and Elle)!
-Picture of the big meal or the hours in the kitchen wasn’t worth it.
-Are you a one slice of pie person or a sampler plate? We had 8 pies and I sampled 4 :)
-No Spend November came to an end on Black Friday with an impulse buy of 1/2 off OPI nail polish and restock of my favorite lip color.
-Wrote our letter to Santa with the cutest kit from All Good Things.
-One last, but important event of the holiday weekend included Hallie’s baptism!

Annie

BIG Bites of My Life

I blame the holidays for this, but I’m combing three bites posts in one. Lot’s to read, so I won’t bore you here. If you are willing to take an extra big bite, carry on, if you give up before the end I understand.

Week leading up to Christmas…

-Easily one of my favorite recipes, and I love that it is many of y’alls too. This Crock-Pot Verde Turkey Chili is best in the winter and can be made Whole 30.
-Trying ashwaganda for the first time. I’ve been hearing of it’s many benefits to combat stress, but hadn’t tried it until recently. It tastes pretty earthy and I am still looking for the best way to mask that, but I will let you know when I do. Picked up this golden milk mix before the holidays too. The perfect drink to wind down with during the chaotic season.
-Worked/ing on eating more veggie friendly breakfasts instead of oatmeal and smoothies during the sugar filled holidays. Hooked on a version of this sweet potato hash inspired by my friend Lauren.
-Collagen hot cocoa swept insta before Christmas and I happily jumped on the train. Posted my recipe here.
-2nd Annual Cookie Decorating Party! A fun new tradition my best girls and I started last year.
-Sucker for a good snack spread. Hummus and cucumbers, salami and olives and baked brie for my girlfriends to counteract all the icing and cookies we ate…
-If you know you know. And if you’re night ends here, you know it was a good one.
-Here we go a wassailinggggg! Mom’s wassail is a staple at the holidays!
-Christmas Eve Eve traditions run deep with this group!

Christmas Week…

-More cookie decorating because that’s what you do at the holidays. Used my Signature Sugar Cookie recipe which is the OG recipe Santa asks for every year.
-Dad and I always on the puzzle grind come the holiday season.
-As our family grows, it also get’s small in some instances. Just me, mom and dad this Christmas Eve, but celebrated the night with church, spaghetti and meatballs (we used this recipe for the sauce and it was perfect) and a late night walk through the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights, just the three of us!
-Tucker tradition of OJ/mimosas with raspberries on Christmas morning. Served along side our traditional sausage crescents and new tradition of this cranberry orange bread.
-Our littlest family member was so sick, but powered through Christmas. And loved her kitchen gadgets gift from Aunt Annie :) Toast and coffee anyone?
-It’s a GRIL!! We found out back in September that Kathleen and John were pregnant with their second baby. We anxiously had to wait until Christmas to find out the sex. Best news ever that Elle is getting a little sister.
-CopperBoom! Never taking this sweatshirt off. Thank you Kathleen!
-I love for Tucker holiday meals. Beef tenderloin, twice bakes, glazed carrots and our family Christmas salad.
-Remember that golden milk mix I mentioned earlier? I used it to flavor this smoothie bowl and I highly recommend. Frozen cauliflower, some ice, vanilla Arbonne protein powder, oat milk, little almond butter, topped with chia seeds, cacao nibs and pecans.
-2018 was the year of reading. And I blogged about it.
-My London girl is back in the USA, better yet Fort Worth (for now, but hopefully for longer coming soon)!!
-We’ve been coming to Fort Worth for OU weekends since our freshman year of college thanks to The Felton’s! Glad that some things never change!

First week of 2019…

-Balloons ready to DROP for NYE at The Jones.
-Who else has to eat black eyes on New Year’s Day? BEP or no luck for the year!
-All the groceries to get back in the swing of things post holidays.
-Celery juice trend ain't stopping anytime soon. Clear skin, smooth skin, look and feel of hair, reduced eczema, less bloat it helps it all!
-S N O W. We got about 3 inches unexpectedly this week. And funny thing about this picture is I took it at about 10pm, but it looks so bright from all the white!
-Snow day lunch at home consisting of my Spicy Red Pepper and Tomato soup, gala apple and rosemary Flackers (my new obsession).
-The Defined Dish’s Hibachi Chicken with Magic Mustard sauce lived up to the hype~~
-My favorite part of my job is when I get to taste all the fun concoctions our bartenders and chefs come up with. Exhibit A, this Oreo inspired beer cocktail.
-Always love a quick Dallas trip.

Annie

Bites of My Life

“Now it’s your turn to say Happy Thanksgiving back.”

“Happy, Thanksgiving, back.”

anyone?

Thanksgiving week is here and I’m giddy. After a weekend of no plans (hallelujah), I’m feeling recharged and ready for the holiday week. We are having a big all-restaurant group Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow and made 3 lbs. of sweet potatoes yesterday to contribute. Hoping the first half of the week goes by quick, so we can skip to the big day!

-Almond Nog > Regular Nog, especially this brand. Packaging on point too.
-Trying to step away from gray and black everyday this time of year, this hot pink sweater is helping!
-Tuesday started off stressful and uneasy. Did my best to take initiative of the day and opted out of going int the office (thankful I have this luxury, I know it’s rare) and working from a cute coffee shop instead. My stress levels have been a bit all over the place lately, but I’m working on managing them. I knew going into my office wouldn’t help, so I chose to work in a peaceful surrounding and with my favorite drink.
-Pie and dressing transporting to Friendsgiving in style. This piece from Scout is one of my favorites. I use mine all the time and I’ve gifted it 3 times!
-I used this recipe for the pie and this one for the dressing, would recommend both.
-Friendsgiving was a raging success. Bonus points to all my friends after tasting their cooking abilities.
-Oklahoma City people, OSO on Paseo is o so delicious! Order the taco salad.
-Welcome Sur la Table, welcome. Kathleen and I, bought our mom a cooking class for her birthday and I literally can’t wait.
-If you like peppermint bark you MUST go but this peppermint bark popcorn from Trader Joe’s ASAP.

Annie

Breakfast bite: Did you miss last week’s recipe post? It’s the perfect thing to make for your family to eat on for breakfast over the holiday. I am!

Bites of My Life

Merry Christmas my friends! I say this every year, but I hate how fast Christmas comes and goes. My family had a quaint little gathering of our immediate family, minus Claire :( It was simple, but so nice. We ate fabulous food, baked lots of treats, stayed in pjs all day and listened to Christmas music on repeat. There were shrieks and squeals over gifts received and some tears of joy over things like a purse-Kathleen, and me-new dishes. The things I get excited about...

-On a Siggi's kick last week.
-Chick-Fil-A hack turning my spicy chicken sandwich into a spicy chicken salad.
-The best salad in town! Get it here.
-A festive look through my lens at work. 
-Last minute Christmas treats made the blog in time for the big day. 
-New brekkie obsession, loaded sweet potato with berries, AB and granola.
-Phobulous pho with pops!
-Holiday's are a non-stop eating fest, so a counter of apps is needed. Cheese ball, olives and cranberry pomegranate salsa.
-Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters, White Christmas style.
-Pioneer Women cinnamon rolls took the cake on Christmas morning!
-Nothing beats a big holiday meal.
-An Ina inspired dessert. Scoops of ice cream with Christmas cookies.

Annie